I don’t know the man below. This picture was taken a few years before my birth. i.e., early 1950’s. The guy in the photo reminds me of Lyndon Johnson. He is looking at cotton that was harvested from a “plantation” in east Georgia, likely some 100 or so miles west of the Savannah River. The cotton would have gone from the ‘ginner’ to one of the many mills that dotted Georgia.

The home below is very typical of the Georgia planters home. It is not of the massive scale that so many believe was the dominant form of the planter’s home. Typically, there were four room — in two over two fashion — where as time progressed addtional rooms would have been added to the rear on one floor.

The heart of the entrepreneur’s spirit began in these old homes.

The home below was the exception. From what I have been able to determine from historical documentartion, the home itself was not in as much disrepair as the grounds would lend one to believe when the photo was taken. It is a classic “Tidewater” design with the piano nobile entry level. Constructed of site fired brick and coated with “rough coat” the construction of the home was also typical of the era. Strangely, many of these old homes stand because Sherman’s forces did not expend effort to destroy these massive masonry structures.

The home above pictured below is in a higher state of repair. The lady pictured on the lawn was like many African-Americans after the war, what does one do? Do you retreat to the city, i.e. Atlanta, or remain on the plantation where you an at least feed your children? This is the essence of America’s present day welfare state, the difference being that today all people are considered equal in ability, so logically, what is blocking them from material attainment? Individuals have never been uniformly equal in ability and never will be.

I’m not known for verbal finesse. So here goes….. The photo above was used by Democrats, i.e. Yankees in the political verbal war of “how we should help these black folk.” The southern perspective was and is “you don’t work, you get no pay.” The photo below is of a scene before the Great Democratic Plantation came into existence. It also predates a time when both poor whites and poor blacks actually performed work. My hat is off to the folks below. They are all dead today. This photo was taken in 1896.

1896 Cotton Pickers

1960’s white Georgians. The second iteration of a cultural war was about to be underway. Today, the land where these ladies and gentlemen stand is dominated by more caucasians than it was at the time this photo was taken. In fact, Georgia’s population is increasing in caucasian population while all other ethnicities decrease.

Railcars of Ford automobiles. Ironically, this photo was taken on a plantation through which the rail line ran not a great distance from land Henry Ford had purchased. All of the land Henry Ford purchased in Georgia has either been sold by the Fords or is currently for sale by the Fords.

The main floor of a plantation home. There are few rooms, but they are very large in size.

And……..last but not least, a photo of the old garden on my place. This particular plantation is not longer farmed. It has returned to a state of oaks, pine, and mixed shrubs. At the time of its’ original land grant, it was covered in longleaf pine. Today, around 1200 acres of long leaf is present.